User Policies

Personal Belongings in Library Buildings

Individuals should limit the amount of personal property they bring into the Library. Certain prohibited items cannot be brought into Library buildings.

• PROHIBITED ITEMS AT LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ENTRY: Ammunition, Animals (other than service animals) Aerosol containers, Bags (larger than 18” x 14” x 8.5”), Balloons, Bicycles, Ballistic items, Chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear substances, Chemicals (or other damaging liquids) Destructive devices, Disabling chemicals, Drones, Firearms, Handcuffs (or any items that can be used as restraints), Impact weapons (such as batons blackjacks or clubs laser pointers), Mace or pepper spray, Noise amplification devices, Knives or sharp pointed objects, Realistic replicas of explosives or firearms, Sealed envelopes and packages, Signs or structures that support signs, Tasers / Stun guns, any other weapon designated a hazard by USCP.
• ALLOWED ITEMS: Battery operated electronic devices, Bottles/cans; Creams, lotions or perfumes (no larger than 3.4 oz.), Containers (open, empty and clear/translucent) Food or beverage (in original packaging).

Personal Belongings in Research Centers

Specific personal belongings policies may vary by research center. A few research centers offer storage lockers within the reading room. For more information about a particular research center’s policies, visit that research center’s site.

Store Your Belongings

Jefferson and Madison Cloak Rooms. The Library operates cloak rooms in the Jefferson and Madison Buildings where researchers can store their personal belongings before visiting a research center. The cloak rooms are open Monday-Thursday 8:30am-9pm and Friday-Saturday 8:30am-5:30pm. Duffle bags, oversized luggage and large storage bags are not permitted in the cloak rooms. Checked items must be removed before leaving the Library. No overnight storage is allowed. The Library reserves the right to refuse items for storage.

Adams Building. The Science and Business Reading Room in the Adams Building uses free, self-service lockers.

Restricted Items

There are restrictions on bringing personal belongings into the Library. Learn more about these items and other storage options in our FAQ.

Conduct on Library Premises

Persons using the Library’s facilities and research centers must conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the purposes and functions of the Library of Congress and avoid detrimentally affecting the peace, tranquility, and good order of the Library.

The Library of Congress provides access to the Internet in designated locations in the Library as a resource for all registered Library users, including Congress and the public. Learn more about using the Library's public computers and WiFi in our FAQ.

Research centers are to be used only for quiet scholarly research or educational purposes requiring use of Library materials. In addition to the general standards of conduct required for anyone on the premises, those using the Library's facilities and research centers shall avoid disturbing others and shall refrain from various restricted behaviors, including, but not limited to, the following:

• eating, drinking, or smoking where these activities are prohibited;
• speaking loudly or making disruptive noises;
• using any musical instrument or other device for the production or reproduction of sound;
• interfering, by offensive personal hygiene, with the use of the area by another person;
• spitting, defecating, urinating, or similar disruptive activities;
• intentionally damaging any items from the Library's collections or any items of Library property (see below, Protection of Library Materials and Government Property); and
• running, sliding down banisters, blocking crowd circulation, or otherwise causing disruption to operations and activities.

Protection of Library Materials and Government Property

Persons in violation of federal laws and Library regulations relating to the Library's property, including its collections, are subject to removal from the premises, to arrest, and to any additional penalties prescribed by law.

Under federal statutes, any person who shall steal, wrongfully deface, injure, mutilate, tear, or destroy Library materials, or any portion thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both (18 USC 641; 18 USC 1361; 18 USC 2071; and 22 D.C. Code 3306).

Federal statutes provide further that any person who embezzles, steals, purloins, or, without authority, disposes of anything of value of the United States, or willfully injures or commits any depredation against any government property, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both; but if the value of such property does not exceed the sum of $100, he shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year or both (18 USC 641 and 18 USC 1361).

Any instance of mutilation or theft of Library materials or other Library property may be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of applicable statutes. In addition to arrest and prosecution by appropriate authorities pursuant to law, persons violating the rules and regulations prescribed by the Librarian of Congress which provide for the protection of Library property shall be subject to:

• Suspension, revocation, or other curtailment of reader or borrower privileges; or
• Restriction of further access to the Library buildings and use of its reader and reference services and other facilities.

Any person who wrongfully defaces, injures, mutilates, tears, or destroys Library materials, or any portion thereof, shall be required to replace such material either in kind or make restitution to the Library of Congress for the cost of replacement or necessary restoration.